Washington, DC (Mar. 28, 2016) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is delighted to announce that its publishing unit, NACDL Press, will be publishing a groundbreaking work on women in criminal defense by leading criminal defense attorney, legal scholar, Dean and Professor of Law at Valparaiso University School of Law, and decades-long NACDL member Andrea D. Lyon. The book is expected to be released in 2017 and will be titled The Feminine Sixth: Women for the Defense. In this work, Ms. Lyon will tell the stories of women lawyers who are in criminal defense—public and private—who are not necessarily on the speakers' circuit or otherwise well known.
"This book tells the stories of some extraordinary women that you likely do not know," Ms. Lyon said. "They have all been or are still criminal defense lawyers. They have all had differing experience doing this work, figuring out how to live their lives while doing it, and being aware of how their gender affected or still affects those choices and styles. The Sixth Amendment guarantees those charged with crimes the right to effective assistance of counsel. The only lawyers recognized by the constitution are us. These are the stories of that part of that constitutional mandate that are women (a relatively new occurrence); the feminine Sixth."
NACDL Executive Director Norman L. Reimer said: "Andrea Lyon brings a level of criminal defense experience that is extraordinary for its depth and breadth. Her unique perspective on the growing role of women in the profession will not only provide an important and unique window into the American criminal justice system and an evolving society, but will also serve as an inspiration for all current and aspiring criminal defense lawyers, regardless of gender or background. This book will provide a fascinating look at one of the most crucial aspects of the legal profession and promises to inspire and influence future generation of lawyers. NACDL is proud to be a part of this most important project."
Andrea D. Lyon has tried more than 130 homicide cases, both within the public defender's office and elsewhere. She has defended more than 30 potential capital cases at the trial level. Of these she has taken 19 through the penalty phases and won them all. Her previous works, published to high acclaim, include The Death Penalty: What's Keeping It Alive, Angel of Death Row: My Life as a Death Penalty Defense Lawyer, and the legal textbook Federal Habeas Corpus: Cases and Materials. Ms. Lyon founded the Illinois Capital Resource Center in 1990 and served as its director until joining the University of Michigan Law School faculty in 1995. In 2000, she joined the faculty at DePaul University School of Law, and in 2014 she was appointed the twelfth and first female dean of Valparaiso University Law School.
Ms. Lyon is represented by Regina Ryan Books, a literary agent located in New York City that specializes in significant nonfiction books, both adult and juvenile.
NACDL Press published its first book jointly with Thomson Reuters Westlaw in July 2012, Disrobed: An Inside Look at the Life and Work of a Federal Trial Judge, by Judge Frederic Block. NACDL Press has since published two additional works with Thomson Reuters Westlaw: Collateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Law, Policy and Practice, by Margaret Colgate Love, Jenny Roberts & Cecilia Klingele, published in February 2013 and updated for its 2016 edition, now available here, and Not Guilty: The Unlawful Prosecution of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, by Rob Cary, Sen. Ted Stevens's defense attorney, published in September 2014.
The Feminine Sixth: Women for the Defense, by Andrea D. Lyon, will be the first work published exclusively by NACDL Press. It is anticipated that this book will be released in 2017.
To learn more about Andrea Lyon, please visit her profile. A catalog of Ms. Lyon's representative scholarship is available here. In addition, prior books by Ms. Lyon are available on Amazon.com here.
Contacts
Ivan J. Dominguez, NACDL Director of Public Affairs & Communications, (202) 465-7662 or idominguez@nacdl.org for more information.
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.